Jumping The Shark
by forensicsfan
Summary: My response to the season finale. The show has in fact jumped the shark, GSR style.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them. However, as always, coffee is on me if the cast has time in between jumps over the shark.

**Author's Note:** The writers have gone and done it and now I'm inclined to believe that the end is near. In my opinion, Season 7 is going to be the last, if the writers don't run it into the ground before that because I have little confidence that any TV show writers know what to do once they put characters in a romantic relationship. So while some of you may be dancing in the streets with joy, and some may be crying tears while downing Snickers bars, I'll be waxing up my water skis to see if I too can jump the shark.

* * *

_**Two Months After The Season Finale:**_

"You're what?" Nick looked at Sara incredulously as he closed his locker. He wasn't sure he was hearing her correctly.

"I'm leaving, quitting." She actually looked at peace with her decision, as if there was nothing that would change her mind. She was packing the contents of her locker into a duffel bag as if she had no intention of ever returning.

"Can I ask why?" Nick could not believe what Sara was telling him was true; being a criminalist was her life and the people in the lab had become her family. Nick considered her to be one of his good friends and this seemed to be coming out of nowhere. He would have thought he would have seen signs that she planned to leave.

Sara let out a sigh and glanced over at him with a furrowed brow. "I just think it's for the best." She wasn't sure if she even wanted anyone to know about the real reason she was leaving; but then again, Nick was a good friend and he really deserved to hear the truth from her rather than the lab gossip which would be sure to surface over the next few days and weeks.

"So that's it?" Nick was flabbergasted. He somehow expected a little more information than that. He was also hurt that she seemed to be shutting him out. Over the years they'd sort of become each others sounding board.

Sara looked at him softly, studying his features before offering him a sad smile. "Let's have breakfast. We can talk...just not at the diner, ok?" She didn't want to chance that anyone else from the nightshift might show up at the place that had become a bad habit that none of them seemed to be able to break.

"Yeah." Nick had just the place in mind; not too far from Sara's apartment was a place that served the best stuffed French toast; it was much quieter than the diner and it seemed the ideal place to have a private conversation. "Follow me?"

"Yeah." Sara wasn't sure why she felt compelled to share what was going on with Nick, but she felt she owed him more than just her brief explanation which really told him nothing.

Twenty minutes later, they were seated in a booth in a quiet corner of the restaurant and had just put in an order for breakfast. Nick studied Sara before taking a sip of coffee and then set the cup down. He could tell that she was somewhat nervous. "So what's going on?" She had wanted to have breakfast so he knew she had something to say.

Sara fiddled with her coffee cup absent mindedly. "You remember when Brass was shot?" It seemed like it was yesterday; it had been one of the most horrifying nights she'd ever worked outside of when Nick had been buried alive. They really weren't sure if he would survive and all of them had been a wreck while they tried to continue working.

"How could I forget?" Nick shook his head as the events played over in his mind. Brass had been a good friend who filled a sort of father figure role in his life and when Nick thought they might loose him, he felt as if his chest was being crushed.

"I slept with Grissom." She just blurted it out because there was no easy way to share something like that since it wasn't public knowledge.

Nick's mouth hung open in disbelief. He knew that Sara had been a bit obsessive about their supervisor, but he _was_ her supervisor, he never really thought anything would happen between them, especially since Grissom was _still_ their supervisor. The wheels in his mind started to churn slowly. "You what?"

Sara realized that since she was leaving, she really didn't need to be nervous. By tomorrow the entire lab could know and she wouldn't care. "I slept with Grissom."

Nick still wasn't sure he was hearing her correctly. "What were you thinking, Sar? He's your boss."

"_Was_ my boss." Sara corrected him with a smirk. "I quit, remember." She felt absolute relief knowing that she wasn't going to have to carry around the burden of secrecy anymore just so Grissom could keep his job.

Nick scowled in Sara's direction, not a scowl really at her, but at the whole damn fucked up situation. "So you're dumping your entire career because you had comfort sex?" He looked at her incredulously.

Color began to creep up Sara's cheeks. "Uh, actually, it wasn't just once." She could tell that she might as well tell him the whole story and so she smiled and set her coffee down, settling in for a good long conversation. "For a man of his age, he has quite the stamina."

Nick chuckled at the comment, not really sure what to say.

"In fact, I don't think I've had that much sex the entire time I've been in Vegas, Nick." Sara had this look about her that was more than just peaceful, it was complete satisfaction. "And it was good sex too, very good sex."

"Are you sure you want to be telling me this?" Nick was having difficulty processing what she was sharing with him and let out another chuckle a bit nervously.

"Yes." Sara tilted her head slightly and smiled. "I just want you to know why I'm leaving."

Nick furrowed his brow. "So if things are going good, why are you leaving?" He knew Grissom, he knew Sara and while he knew that there was an underlying current of attraction between them, he never thought they'd ever do anything about it. Grissom was too much of a professional to ever cross that line, or so he thought.

"That's just it. They _were_ good, but we weren't having a normal relationship, Grissom didn't want anyone to know about us and I just can't base an entire relationship with someone on sex, even if it _is_ really good sex." Sara loved Grissom, but her heart had gradually come to realize that if he couldn't go public, that if he wasn't willing to risk his career for her, then it wasn't the kind of love she really wanted from him. And she also knew herself well enough to know that if she stayed, she would continue settling for less than what she really wanted from Grissom.

Nick nodded in understanding, smiling a bit sadly. "I'm sorry he didn't really seem to get it, Sar. If I were him, there wouldn't even be a choice to make; I'd choose you." He wasn't sure why he'd said that really, it wasn't even if he had ever considered telling Sara about the crush he'd had on her for years.

Sara let out a soft giggle, it was flattering, but the last thing she wanted was to date someone else from the lab. She had made her decision and she was leaving. "You've been a good friend to me, Nick. Thanks."

"Anytime." To Nick this was a bittersweet moment, but he respected Sara and he knew she had to do what was right for her. He would support her a hundred percent.

**_Just About One Year Later:_**

The sound of soft footsteps in the sand caused Sara to glance up and a shocked smile spread across her face. "Nick, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Nick grinned at her as he settled himself down on the sand next to her before she could stand up. They had stayed in touch after she'd left Vegas and he knew that he could find her up near Santa Cruz on the California coast where she'd rented a house. She had spent the last school year teaching physics at UC Santa Cruz and the semester had just finished up, all she had to do was submit the final grades for the students and she was done until fall.

"How much time do you have off?" Sara was surprised at Nick's arrival, but certainly not disappointed. She was glad that they'd kept in touch and she'd actually thought about heading back to Vegas for a visit in a few weeks, but she still wasn't sure what she'd say to Grissom. He hadn't really acknowledged what had transpired between them in the brief note he'd sent her after she'd left, as if to put it in writing would somehow make it more real, he'd simply reminded her that the lab needed her, he couldn't bring himself to tell her that he needed her.

Nick grinned. "I quit." He let out a loud chuckle as he watched shock register across Sara's face.

"No you didn't." Sara clearly didn't believe him; her eyes were wide.

"Yes I did." Nick tried to swallow his glee. "You inspired me."

She looked at him oddly and then smirked. "Don't tell me you slept with Grissom too." She giggled and then snorted out a laugh as Nick's mouth hung open.

"No." He had missed her teasing and the flirty banter; most of all he'd missed her. "I decided that I needed to expand my horizons, so I'm heading to Africa to study birds for a while."

Sara's eyes widened again. "Africa?" Clearly this was not something she expected. "Why Africa?" Couldn't he just take a long vacation and call it good? This was too far away for a quick weekend visit.

Nick smiled a bit more seriously. "I'm tired. I've been kidnapped, been held at gunpoint, seen people I care about nearly die. I just need to do something different for a while."

Sara nodded in understanding. "Yeah." She looked at him intently for a moment, worry and sadness clouding her features. "So is this goodbye?"

Nick looked at her with an expectant expression. "That's up to you really...I was hoping you might come with me." He knew he was risking a hell of a lot, there were implications in his request that Sara just might not want to deal with, but he'd come to the conclusion that he was in love with her and he needed to risk it all and find out if there was any room for him in her heart.

Sara looked somewhat shocked, but a smile crept across her face as she considered what he was asking; she'd thought about what he'd said before she'd left Vegas. She just hadn't been ready then, but she thought she just might be now. She reached over and pulled him into a hug, realizing that she hadn't properly greeted him yet, whispering in his ear. "I really don't want to say goodbye." She smiled and let out a soft sigh. "When do we leave?"

_**The End**_


End file.
